Musical tone control apparatus employing finger flexing angle detection

• US 5,166,462 A
• Filed: 03/14/1990
• Issued: 11/24/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hideo, Sakama, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoop, Jr., William M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Donels, Jeffrey W.
• Application Number:
  US07/493,290
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 84/600, 84/621, 84/626, 84/644, 84/647, 84/662, 84/670, 84/671, 84/701, 84/718, 84/723, 84/735, 84/743, 84/DIG. 7, 84/DIG. 8, 2/160, 128/774, 128/782, 446/406, 446/408
• US Class Current: 84/600
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0558 using variable resistors
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/34 Switch arrangements, e.g. keyboards or mechanical switches specially adapted for electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/326 Control glove or other hand or palm-attached control device

Abstract

A musical tone control apparatus is provided with a compensation device which compensates a magnitude of detected signals output from each sensor arranged on each finger. Therefore, even though adjacent fingers are involuntarily bent when a specific finger is bent by the intention of a player, an interference which is given to the specific finger from the adjacent fingers is compensated by the compensation device, so that musical tone control signals can be generated from a control signal generation device in accordance with the bending of the specific finger without the interference caused by the adjacent fingers.

Claims

1. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a magnitude of a bending angle for each finger, comprising:

a plurality of bending angle detection means for generating detected signals, each magnitude of which corresponds to the magnitude of the bending angle for each finger, each of the bending angle detection means being adapted to be arranged on a finger;

compensation means for modifying the magnitude of the detected signals, wherein said compensation means stores parameters including parameters related to interference in the detection of bending of a specific finger caused by adjacent fingers which are involuntarily bent when bending the specific finger; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of compensated signals, wherein the musical tone control signals are based on the magnitude of the physical bending angle.

3. A musical tone control apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the control signal generation mans generates musical tone control signals produced by an intended bending magnitude calculated from the physical bending magnitude for each finger and one of the parameters.

2. A musical tone control apparatus according to detection means generates each of said detected signals corresponds to a physical bending magnitude of each respective finger, and wherein each of the bending angle detection means is arranged on each respective finger.

4. A musical tone control apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said compensation means stores ratios of interferences which are caused between adjacent fingers and a specific finger for each finger, wherein the ratio of interference is used to compensate for the interference.

5. A musical tone control apparatus according to claim 4 in which the control signal generation means generates a musical tone control signal produced by an intended bending magnitude obtained from first deriving an interference magnitude which is allocated to the adjacent fingers and which is calculated based one each ratio of interference, and secondly subtracting the interference magnitude from the physical bending magnitude of the specific finger.

6. A musical tone control apparatus according to claim 2 in which the compensation means stores combination data composed of a number of group data, wherein each of the group data is composed of a combination of the physical bending magnitude corresponding to the fingers which indicate a state of the bending or stretching.

7. A musical tone control apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the control signal generation means for generating a musical tone control signal produced by an intended bending magnitude is determined by a minimum combination difference, the minimum difference being obtained by comparing a combination of the physical bending magnitude for each finger with each group of data in the combination data.

17. The musical control apparatus according to claim 5 in which the interference magnitude is calculated by multiplying the physical bending magnitude by each ratio of the interferences.

8. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

a flexing angle detection means arranged on each finger for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on said finger, so as to correct for spurious interference signals generated by the action of involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers on said detection means disposed on adjoining fingers; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of modified tone control signals, whereby said modified control signals provide an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by a performer.

9. The musical tone control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control signal generation means generates musical tone control signals calculated from said physical angle of the flexing finger with the use of parameters stored in said compensation means to reproduce the intended musical effect of the performer.

10. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

a flexing angle detection means arranged on each finger for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on each finger, so as to correct for spurious signals produced by said detection means, said spurious signals generated by involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers, wherein said compensation means further includes memory means for storing calculated ratios of interference, including a standard value for each finger and an inter-relationship between adjoining fingers, for use in modifying the detected signal; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of modified tone control signals, whereby said modified control signals provide an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by a performer.

11. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

a flexing angle detection means arranged on each finger for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on each finger, so as to correct for spurious signals produced by said detection means, said spurious signals being generated by involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of modified tone control signals, wherein a value of said flexed angle is calculated by subtracting an interference magnitude, calculated based on stored interference ratios, from the physical bending magnitude of said finger, whereby said control signals provide an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by said finger of a performer.

12. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

a flexing angle detection means arranged on each finger for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on each finger, so as to correct for spurious signals produced by said detection means, said spurious signals generated by involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers, wherein said compensation means stores combination data composed of a group of numbers data, wherein said data is composed of a combination of the physical bending magnitude corresponding to a finger which indicates a state of flexing or stretching; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of modified tone control signals, whereby said modified control signals provide an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by a performer.

13. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

a flexing angle detection means arranged on each finger for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on each finger, so as to correct for spurious signals produced by said detection means, said spurious signals generated by involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers, wherein the compensation means comprises modifying means which modifies each detected signal independently in accordance with a flexing characteristic of each finger, and generates reference signals corresponding to each finger; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of modified tone control signals, whereby aid modified control signals provide an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by a performer.

14. A musical tone control apparatus according to claim 13 in which the control signal generation means generates musical tone control signals according to a comparison between the modified detection signal and the reference signal.

15. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

detection means for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on each finger, so as to correct for spurious signals produced by said detection means, said spurious signals being generated by involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of the modified detection signals, said generation means further comprising touch detection means for detecting an initial touch based on the magnitude of the modified detection signals and for modifying the musical tone control signals in accordance with the initial touch, whereby said modified tone control signals provide an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by a performer.

16. A musical tone control apparatus for controlling a musical tone control signal in correspondence with a flexing angle of a flexing finger, said apparatus comprising:

a flexing angle detection means arranged on each finger for detecting the magnitude of flexing for each finger and generating signals in correspondence with the magnitude of the flexed angle for each finger, wherein said magnitude of flexing is related to a physical angle of said flexing finger;

compensation means for modifying the detected signals produced by said detection means on each finger, so as to correct for spurious signals produced by said detection means, said spurious signals generated by involuntary flexing of adjoining fingers, wherein said compensation means recognizes a state of the flexed angle for each of the fingers, detected by the flexing angle detection means, as a flexing pattern of the fingers, and the control signal generation means generates the musical tone control signals based on the flexing pattern; and

control signal generation means for generating musical tone control signals based on the magnitude of modified tone control signals, whereby said modified control signal provides an accurate reproduction of an intended musical effect created by a performer.

18. The musical control apparatus according to claim 16 in which said state of the flexed angle for each of the fingers from the thumb to the little finger represents whether a finger is in a flexing or stretching state.